The Basics of the BIOS

@hacker

Published in 

2600 Salt Lake City

 · 5 years ago

 

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                              -= The Basics of the BIOS =- 

                                -= By Manic Velocity =- 
                         -= manicvelocity@geeksyndicate.net =- 
                            
                              -= http://www.2600slc.org =- 
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Intro- 

Alright, you come home from work, grab a snack and sit down at your computer.  You fire the 
thing up, the extensions load, the OS boots up and your set to go to do whatever.  But wait.  
What loaded your extensions?  What started up your OS?  What exactly happened the second you  
pushed the power button?  I hope to explain all that a bit in this article. 

 
To Answer Those Questions- 

What loaded everything?  What caused your operating system to operate?  The Basic  
Input/Output System.  Also known as BIOS.  The BIOS is one of three types of software  
that helps your computer run.  The first being, of course, the operating system, and  
second, the applications.  When you boot up your computer, in order to load the operating  
system, the microprocessor needs to execute it�s first instruction.  That instruction  
comes from the BIOS. 

The BIOS doesn't just load the OS, it�s other functions include the Power On Self Test  
or POST.  The POST performs certain tasks that makes sure all hardware is in working order.   
The BIOS also activates other BIOS chips on various cards installed on the computer.  (SCSI  
cards and graphics cards have their own BIOS chips.)  And the BIOS runs routines that  
interface the OS with hardware such as keyboards, monitors, serial and parallel ports, etc. 

The BIOS is stored on a flash memory chip on the motherboard. 

 
Updating Your BIOS- 

If you have an older computer, (Most computers today are absolete by the time you open the  
box.  So this section, no doubt, applies to you.) it may help to get your BIOS updated.   
The more you introduce newer components to your computer, the more your BIOS will need to  
change its understanding of the entire system, in order to put everything in order.  Since  
the BIOS is stored in some form of ROM, changing it, may take a bit more effort, than it  
takes to update most types of software. 

In order to upgrade your BIOS, you may need some sort of program provided by the BIOS  
manufacturer.  Find out what type of BIOS you have, and go to the manufacturer's website  
to see if there is an available upgrade.  Download the upgrade and the utility program  
needed to install it.  Copy the upgrade along with the utility program onto a disk.   
Restart your computer with the disk in its drive, and the program will erase the old BIOS,  
and install the new one.   

Major BIOS manufacturer's include: American Megatrends Inc., Microid Research, Phoenix  
Technologies, Acerlabs and Winbond. 

When upgrading your BIOS, be sure that you are installing one that's compatible with your  
system.  If you goof up, you could destroy your original BIOS without installing the new  
one.  Which means no more computer for a while.  I suggest checking with the computer  
manufacturer before you do anything you�re not sure of. 

 
Conclusion- 

This information isn't really anything new.  But I wanted to take the time to educate  
myself more about how computers work, rather than just what they can do. 

The websites of the above mentioned BIOS manufacturer's are as follows: 

American Megatrends Inc. 
www.megatrends.com 

Microid Research 
www.mrbios.com 

Phoenix Technologies 
www.phoenix.com/index.html 

Acerlabs 
www.acerlabs.com 

Winbond 
www.winbond.com.tw 

 
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� 2600SLC.ORG 2001 
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